Apparatus for detecting high-tension ends in a thread sheet



V 2 1967 H. R. NEWCOME 3,353,244

APPARATUS FOR DETECTING HIG'H'TENSION ENDS IN A THREAD SHEET Filed March28, 1966 D M N\- l I 1 o N N 32 ,1 Z N N\ N 2 m o I R i Q 2 m n 7 a OS MZ N 0 INVENTOR HAL R. NEWCOME- BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent3,353,244 APPARATUS FOR DETECTING HIGH-TENSION ENDS IN A THREAD SHEETHal R. Newcome, Columbia, S.C., assignor to Allied Chemical Corporation,New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 28, 1966, Ser. No.537,950 5 Claims. (Cl. 2835) This invention relates to an apparatus fordetecting high-tension ends in a horizontal sheet of a multitude ofparallel yarn ends. More particularly, the invention relates to a devicefor detecting high-tension ends in a multitude of parallel yarn endsprior to put-up on a warp beam.

In the production of cloth, it has been a practice of long standing totake packages of drawn yarn or filaments and to load them onto a creeland thereafter to run the individual yarn ends from each creel ontolarge, flanged cylinders known throughout the textile industry as beams.A beam represents the largest yarn package available and as is known, isemployed in connection with a loom which serves to weave the individualfibers to form a woven cloth.

The production of a woven cloth of acceptable quality requires that theindividual yarn ends put-up on a beam be of even or substantially eventension. A representative prior art device for detecting threads whichare under uneven tension includes a pivotable member which is connectedto each of a plurality of yarns. When there is a breakage or slackeningof any thread, the member contacts a conducting bar to complete anelectric circuit with stop-motion mechanism which stops the feed of thethread or yarn. Generally, prior art devices of this type are notentirely satisfactory from a practical commercial standpoint because itis obvious that considerable time is required to pass each threadthrough the pivotable member, and moreover, it is difiicult to locatethe uneven tensioned yarn among the plurality of yarn ends when thepivoted member makes contact with the conducting bar to activate thestop-motion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus fordetecting high-tension ends in a threaded sheet. Another object is toprovide an apparatus in the form of a single unit as opposed to theindividual units for each yarn end previously employed, which apparatuscontinuously and automatically monitors all the yarn ends in the sheet.

A further object is to provide an apparatus which easily identifies tothe observer the uneven tensioned thread.

Still another object is to provide an apparatus for monitoring tensionof the yarn at a point just prior to take up onto the beam. Otherobjects and advantages will be apparent from the following detaileddescription.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an apparatusfor detecting high tension ends in a horizontal sheet of parallel yarnends which comprises two supports disposed one on each side of saidparallel yarn ends, a traverse cradle guide disposed transversely oversaid yarn ends and supported by said supports, a traverse cradleincluding a frame transversely movably mounted on said traverse cradleguide having detecting means for detecting said high tension ends, andstopping means for stopping the transverse movement of said frameproximate to the site of said high tension end, and driving meansassociated with said cradle for driving said cradle at a uniform speedback and forth transversely across said parallel yarn ends includinglimiting means for limiting the extent of transverse travel of saidcradle.

For a clearer understanding of the invention, reference is made to thedrawings in which FIGURE 1 is a front view in prospective showing theapparatus disposed over a plurality of horizontal yarns and FIGURE 2 isa view of the cradle showing activation when the cradle encounters ahigh tension yarn end.

Referring to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that the apparatus comprises twosupports 10 and 11, disposed one on each side of a plurality ofhorizontal threads or yarns 12 which, for purposes of convenience, arehereafter called yarn ends. Extending from the inner wall of support 11is an arm 13 rigidly secured to the support 11 and which carries anidler pulley 14 which rotates about the axle 15 extending atsubstantially right angles from the arm 13. On the other side of theyarn ends 12 is a drive pulley 16 which is maintained in fixed relationwith axle 17, the latter also carrying another pulley 9 enclosed inpulley housing 18 which is in driving engagement with pulley 19oz and bymeans of pulley belt 8 in conjunction with motor 19 is adapted to causerotation of the pulley 16 in clockwise or counterclockwise direction.Located below the arm 13 on support 11 is a traverse cradle guide 20,one end of which is rigidly secured to the inner wall of the support 11.The other end of the cradle guide is secured to support 10 on the frontface thereof by any convenient manner such as by welding the extension21 of the cradle guide to the support 10. As will be seen in thedrawing, the cradle guide has a U-shaped cross section which provides apassageway or track extending across the entire length of the traversecradle guide 21).

Mounted for movement across the traverse cradle guide 20 is a traversecradle 21 which includes a frame 22 having a configuration as shown inFIGURE 1. It will be seen that toward the upper back portion of theframe are mounted a pair of rollers 23 which are positioned in thetraverse cradle guide so that they rotate either clockwise orcounterclockwise along the U-shaped portion of the guide and carry withthem the frame 22. The upper front portion of the frame has two crossmembers 24 having downwardly projecting rods located one at each end ofthe cross members, and which pass through the base plate 25. The baseplate forms the lower portion of the frame 22 and is supported by nuts26 which threadably engage the lower ends of the rods 27.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, centered approximate- 'ly in the middle ofthe base plate near the forward edge thereof is a feeler finger 28pivotably mounted with respect to the base plate by means of pivot pin29 which passes through the feeler finger 28 and into the element 30rigidly mounted on the base plate. The lower end of the feeler finger ispositioned immediately over the plane of the horizontal parallel yarnends 12 in an out-of-contact relation with the plane of the horizontalyarn ends.

Extending one from each side of the feeler finger are projections 31which are substantially parallel with the base plate 25 when the feelerfinger is vertically disposed. The terminals 32 on either end of theprojections are positioned a relatively short distance away from cut-offswitches 33 and one of said projections contacts the lug 34 of thecut-off switch 33 when the feeler finger pivots clockwise orcounterclockwise as will be hereinafter explained.

As will be seen in FIGURE 1, a pulley cable 38 extends over the yarnends 12 and around pulleys 14 and 16 with the ends of the pulley cablebeing afiixed to the frame 22 of the cradle 21 at locations A and B. Itwill be obvious that rotation of pulley 16 clockwise or counterclockwisewill exert a pulling force on the cradle by means of the cable pulley 38and will cause the rollers 23 to roll along the U-shaped cross sectionof the traverse guide carrying with them the cradle which travels in thedirection of the pulling force applied at locations A or B.

Located within the pulley housing 18 is the end of axle 17 mounted inbearings, not shown, and which carries another pulley rigidly associatedwith the axle. Located immediately adjacent the support is a motor 19which supplies the driving force for the apparatus. The motor is of aconventional type and is of the class which is capable of instantlyreversing the direction of rotation of the shaft 35 by an electricalreceiving system, not shown. Located on the motor shaft 35 and rigidlysecured thereto is a pulley 19a which accommodates a pulley belt 8 whichextends around pulleys 19a and 9 in driving arrangement therewith.Positioned above the yarn cradle guide are a pair of limit switches 36positioned so that they extend one on each end slightly beyond the edgesof the horizontal yarn ends 12. It will be observed that there arenotches 37 at the lower end of these limit switches through which thepulley cable 38 is permitted to travel. Strategically located on thepulley cable 34 are limit 'buttons 38a which are positioned so that whenone of the limit buttons 38a contacts the limit switch 36 most closelyrelated thereto, the cradle 21 at this point has completely cleared theyarn ends 12 and the direction of travel of the cradle is reversed overthe yarn ends. This direction of travel of the cradle is effected bymeans of circuitry and relays, not shown, in communication with themotor 19. The limit button 38a contacts the limit switch 36 most closelyrelated thereto which causes a circuit to be energized and to send animpulse to the motor to reverse the direction of the shaft 19a.

Thus, the cradle 21 periodically alternately travels back and forthacross the yarns until the apparatus is stopped or until the feelerfinger encounters a high tensioned yarn as shown in FIGURE 2. When ahigh tensioned yarn is encountered, the finger 28 pivots and one of theterminal ends 32 contacts the lug 34 which energizes a circuit, notshown, to send an impulse to the motor which immediately cuts down themotor, stopping the travel of the cradle.

In a representative technique of operation, and assuming the cradle isin a position as shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawing, the motor isenergized and causes rotation for example, clockwise, of the shaft 35,and pulley 19a. The pulley in pulley housing 18 is also rotatedclockwise causing pulley 16 to rotate in clockwise direction. The cablepulley 38 then traverses a path towards the idler pulley 14 and carrieswith it the cradle 21 with the finger in substantially vertical positionacross the yarn ends. When a yarn end of high tension is encountered,that is, when a yarn end is above the plane of the horizontal yarn ends,the feeler finger pivots to the left causing the terminal 32 to contactlug 34 which energizes a circuit and causes the motor to come to acomplete stop. The yarn cradle at this point, overlies the uneventensioned yarn with the feeler finger either adjacent the uneven yarnend or in close proximity thereto thereby permitting the operator tolocate the uneven yarn end in a simple and efficient manner. When theuneven yarn end is located and the tension corrected to correspond tosubstantially the same tension in the horizontal yarn ends, theapparatus is again started and the cradle thereafter continues itstravel across the yarn ends until limit button 38a energizes limitswitch 36. At this point, the feeler finger has cleared the horizontalyarn ends located immediately below. Contact of limit button 38a withthe limit switch 36 through relays and circuitry, not shown, sends animpulse to the motor causing the shaft 35 to reverse rotation. By meansof the drive arrangement previously explained, the traverse pulley cablethen rotates in opposite direction and the traverse cradle proceeds backacross the horizontal yarn ends until either another uneven tensionedyarn is located or until limit button 38a contacts limit switch 36 toreverse the path of travel of the cradle.

While a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of this invention has beendescribed, it is apparent that many changes of material andmodifications of design can be made without departing from the conceptof the invention.

The nature of the filamentary structure being monitored is not critical.Threads or continuous-filament yarns composed of either man-made ornatural fibers can be monitored according to the present invention.Several advantages are derived from the practice of this invention,primary among which are, low operating cost as well as the ease andsimplicity in which the high tension yarn end is located. The apparatusmay be easily mounted immediately before a warp beam thereby providing awarp beam having ends under substantially even tension. Other advantagesinherent in the practice of this invention will occur to thoseundertaking its practice.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for detecting high tension ends in a horizontal sheet ofparallel yarn ends which comprises two supports disposed one on eachside of said parallel yarn ends, a traverse cradle guide disposedtransversely over said yarn ends supported by said supports, a traversecradle including a frame transversely movably mounted on said traversecradle guide having detecting means for detecting said high tension endsand stopping means for stopping the transverse movement of said frameproximate to the site of said high tension end, and driving meansassociated with said cradle for driving said cradle at a uniform speedhack and forth transversely across said parallel yarn ends includinglimiting means for limiting the extent of transverse travel of saidcradle.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said traverse cradle guide hasa U-shaped cross section and wherein said detecting means includes abase plate attached to the lower end of said frame, a feeler fingerpivotably vertically mounted on said base plate said finger having apair of projections extending one from each side of said feeler fingerthe lower end of said feeler finger being positioned immediately overthe plane of said horizontal parallel yarn ends, and wherein thestopping means include a pair of cut-off switches mounted on said baseplate one on each side of said finger, said cut-01f switches having lugsextending therefrom, said stopping means being adapted to stop thetransverse travel of said cradle when said feeler finger encounters ahigh tension yarn whereby said finger pivots sufiiciently to effectcontact of one of said lugs with one of said projections on said finger.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said frame carries a pair ofrollers at the upper portion thereof, said rollers being in rollingengagement with said U-shaped cross section of said traverse cradleguide to permit said cradle to travel a path transversely with respectto said yarn ends.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said driving means includes adrive motor having a shaft with a pulley mounted thereon, an axlerotatably mounted on said support and carrying an inner pulley and anouter pulley, said inner pulley being associated with said pulley onsaid motor shaft, said outer pulley being a driving pulley adjacent onesupport and disposed on one side of said yarn ends, an idler pulleymounted on said other support being positioned on the other side of saidyarn ends, a traverse cable pulley in contact with said driving pulleyand idler pulley and being attached to said cradle whereby said cradletravels a path transversely across said yarns when said driving andidler pulleys are rotated.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said limiting means includeslimit switches disposed one on each support and limit buttons positionedon said cable pulley whereby one of said buttons contacts one of saidlimit switches to limit the extent of transverse travel of said cradleand to cause said cradle to traverse a path in opposite direction toprevious path of travel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,940,476 12/1933 Ab'bott 28-352,911,835 11/1959 Smith 74-37 2,967,947 1/1961 Flook 2851 X 3,296,8571/1967 Kaczeus 73-l59 LOUIS K. RIMRODT, Primary Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR DETECTING HIGH TENSION ENDS IN A HORIZONTAL SHEET OFPARALLEL YARN ENDS WHICH COMPRISES TWO SUPPORTS DISPOSED ONE ON EACHSIDE OF SAID PARALLEL YARN ENDS, A TRAVERSE CRADLE GUIDE DISPOSEDTRANSVERSELY OVER SAID YARN ENDS SUPPORTED BY SAID SUPPORTS, A TRAVERSECRADLE INCLUDING A FRAME TRAVERSELY MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID TRAVERSECRADLE GUIDE HAVING DETECTING MEANS FOR DETECTING SAID HIGH TENSION ENDSAND STOPPING MEANS FOR STOPPING THE TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT OF SAID FRAMEPROXIMATE TO THE SITE OF SAID HIGH TENSION END, AND DRIVING MEANSASSOCIATED WITH SAID CRADLE FOR DRIVING SAID CRADLE AT A UNIFORM SPEEDBACK AND FORTH TRANSVERSELY ACROSS SAID PARALLEL YARN ENDS INCLUDINGLIMITING MEANS FOR LIMITING THE EXTENT OF TRANSVERSE TRAVEL OF SAIDCRADLE.